While you always want to fuel your body for peak performance, avoiding sugar spikes during training is critical — especially in Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai. In an ideal situation, a sugar crash may leave you drained after a training session, and in a worst-case scenario, mental fog can lead to mistakes that increase the chances of injuries. The body needs fuel to run, but not all fuel is created equally, and the calories ingested before training will dictate an individual’s overall performance. Selecting the wrong calories increases the risk of a sugar crash.
A sugar spike occurs after eating something high in sugar content, such as the obvious culprits: candy, soda, energy drinks, sugary cereals, pastries, cakes and cookies. However, that also includes these sneaky high-sugar culprits: flavored yogurts, sugary granola bars, white bread, sports drinks, fruit snacks, bottles smoothies and fruit juices. Food labels may also mislead, as those marketed as natural, organic or low-fat can contain a lot of sugar.
Always try to read the food labels of prepackaged foods, as they may also try to hide sugar content through the following ingredients: agave nectar, brown rice sugar, cane sugar, dextrose, evaporated cane juice, glucose, high fructose corn syrup or maltose.
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Ingesting foods and drinks with high sugar content before training may result in a brief feeling of energy as the body’s blood glucose levels rise rapidly, but this feeling will not last due to how the human body processes sugar. After eating sugar, the body breaks it down into glucose. The glucose quickly enters the bloodstream, causing blood sugar levels to spike, which then triggers the pancreas to release insulin to allow sugar from the blood to enter cells for energy or storage. Glucose entering the bloodstream results in a temporary burst of energy.
After this temporary burst of energy, and after the insulin has shifted the sugar into the cells, blood sugar levels will decrease — which leads to a sugar crash. During the crash, a person may feel tired, dizzy or shaky, moody, hungry again and struggle to focus. The body will also crave more sugar to elevate blood sugar once again, which can lead to a cycle of spikes and crashes. Experiencing a prolonged time of frequent sugar spikes can lead to increased fat storage, mood swings, trouble with focus and attention, increased inflammation in the body and poor energy regulation. It may lead to insulin resistance, which can further develop into type II diabetes.
These sugar crashes can be extremely dangerous when rolling in Jiu Jitsu or sparring in Muay Thai. Struggling to focus, combined with becoming tired, may greatly lead to potential injury Gassing out and losing focus while holding pads in Muay Thai could be extremely dangerous, as this could result in a poorly run session or, even worse, getting kicked or punched with serious force, potentially leading to considerable injury. The brief hesitation, distraction or lethargy brought by a sugar crash can also lead to the improper holding of the pads, which will result in the injury of the pad holder or even the striker with the pad not held in the appropriate position. Subsequently, the striker experiencing a sugar crash may throw a misplaced punch or kick that can injure the player.
While good habits benefit you at any age, learning them young can bring extra value, especially as sugar tends to have a greater impact on a young system, causing more pronounced sugar spikes. However, conveying this to children can be challenging.
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Using a race car or a racehorse as an analogy for sugar spikes to the human body may have a greater impact than the scientific version. For example, you can explain that high-sugar, poor-quality food works like race fuel for cars; poor-quality fuel only lets the car run for brief periods. Similarly, you can explain that you wouldn’t feed a racehorse sugary foods before a race, as that could make the race horse fast initially but it will be out of energy and collapse after a minute of running. These analogies may more effectively deliver the importance of a proper diet before exercise. Moderation and balance remain key for everyone when eating high-sugar foods.
You can avoiding a sugar spike before a training session through the food you ingest. Ideally, opt for a mix of complex carbohydrates, lean protein, and a little healthy fat an hour or two before training. Light and easy-to-digest foods, such as carbohydrates and a little protein, are recommended when eating closer to the session.
Each person’s body has different rates and reactions to foods, but the best way to avoid sugar spikes comes down to not eating high-sugar foods before training. Hydration makes up another critical consideration, especially for students within the Easton Academy — an absolute must throughout the day in Colorado, given the elevation and dry air. In short, both hydrating and avoiding sugar crashes will lead to better training sessions!
